I was
in the law office of a senior colleague recently and had the opportunity of
watching one of the programmes of Emmanuel
Television, a DSTV platform.
In the
programme, it appeared to me that Prophet T.B. Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All
Nations was celebrating some of their members who performed excellently in
their respective fields. Among these members were two young prodigies whose
performance were outstanding and worthy of emulation.
One of
them is a twenty-three year-old female graduate of University of Lagos who
bagged first-class degree in electrical and electronics engineering. The other
prodigy is a member of Nigeria’s under-17 National soccer team who was
decorated for his excellent performance in the under-17 World Cup. Yes, I still
remember the footballer’s name. he is Isah Emmanuel.
The
church was very proud of their achievement. I remember Prophet T.B. Joshua
expressed joy at the members’ performance and encouraged other members to
strive for excellence.
One of
the remarkable moments in the occasion was when the twenty-three year-old
female first-class graduate was given the microphone to bare her mind to the
entire congregation. In her speech, she disclosed the secret of her outstanding
academic performance. According to her, it was Prophet T.B. Joshua who
encouraged her to excel. The prophet encouraged her to “work as if all depended
on her and to pray as if all depended on God.”
This
child prodigy held tenaciously to the words of her prophet. She studied as if
all depended on her and prayed as if all depended on God. In the end, she came
out with first-class result!
What a
great inspiration to all of us! Success is a function of principles. When God
created the world, he laid down principles for us to apply in order to achieve
great success in life. Sometimes, we will need to apply only one of these
principles; while at most other times, we will have to combine two or more of
these principles before we can achieve outstanding success.
If our
goal is to achieve outstanding success, then, we must combine certain
principles. And these principles, when narrowed down to two, will find
expression in the word of encouragement given to the first-class female
graduate by her prophet which are:
1. Work
as if everything depends on you; and
2. Pray
as if everything depends on God.
These
two principles above really bring to light why some people achieve outstanding
success while others don’t. The mistake we make most times is that we try to
substitute one of these principles for the other, instead of combining the duo.
It is either we are working hard or we are praying hard. We fail to realize
that it is the combination of work and prayer that bring outstanding results.
The Place of Work
Nature
demands that we should work in order to succeed. To achieve outstanding success
without working for it, is mere wishful thinking. It is like the omelet. You
cannot make an omelet without breaking the egg. You can’t achieve worthwhile
success without putting in great effort.
A student
who will not read and study what he is being taught and he is expecting to bag
first-class degree or distinction is like a man who wants to reap where did not
sow. A student who wants to earn distinction must be ready to work for it.
If you
belong to the category of people who think or believe that you don’t have to
labour to get what you want, I urge you to change your orientation quickly.
There is no such thing as something for nothing. You should establish it in
your mind that if you want anything in life, you must work for it.
Don’t
be a joker in the pack. Virtually all successful people worked hard to get to
where they are today. Most, if not all of them, worked harder than others to be
ahead of the rest.
The Place of Prayer
However,
hard work is not the ultimate. It is possible to work as hard as the super
successful people do or even harder and yet not make any headway. It is
possible to be as brilliant and hardworking as the top scorers in the class and
yet not make a distinction.
You
see, as far as success is concerned, hard work alone is not enough to guarantee
outstanding success. You need a complement or a combination to guarantee your
success. This is where prayer comes in.
If you
are doing everything humanly possible to achieve great success in life, and
success look like a mirage, then, it means you need to apply a winning
combination that will guarantee outstanding success. This combination is “work”
and “prayer.”
You
should not only work, you should also pray fervently. Prayer is the key. Prayer
is the master key that unlocks every door of success. However, the mistake many
of us make is that we see prayer as the only thing we should do in order to
succeed.
Prayer
alone is not enough. Just as God commands us to pray, He also commands us to
work. Neither work nor prayer is indispensable. Both are essential for the
accomplishment of great goals.
On Work
On
work as a principle for success, the Book of Success, the Bible says:
a. “Be
ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be
rewarded” (2 Chron. 15:7);
b. “Whatsoever
thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Eccl. 9:10);
c. “He
that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after
vain persons shall have poverty enough” (Prov. 28:19); and
d. “He
becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent
maketh rich” (Prov. 10:4).
On Prayer
On
prayer as a principle for success, the Bible says:
a. “And
he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not
to faint” (Luke 18:1);
b. “Pray
without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17);
c. “Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24); and
d. “And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John
14:13-14).
In the
light of the above Bible passages, Propher T.B. Joshua’s utterance that one
should “work as if all depends on one and pray as if all depends on God” is the
ultimate winning combination for outstanding success.
These
are the same success principles that is being preached here at CFVL (Centre for
Victorious Living). Work alone may not take you far. So also is prayer. Prayer
alone is not enough. If you are praying when you should work, your prayer will
never take the place of work and so may not avail you. If you are working,
working and working when you should be praying, praying and praying, the work
will never avail you.
“Work”
is tantamount to doing the best you can while “prayer” is asking God to crown
your effort with success. Now, the principles of “work” and “prayer” are
intertwined. You cannot separate one from the other. They go hand-in-hand.
Dear
reader, are you looking for the ultimate combination for achieving the
incredible? Then, look no further! This combination havs been delivered to you
in this article. “WORK AS IF ALL DEPENDS ON YOU; PRAY AS IF ALL DEPENDS ON
GOD.”
Like
the female first-class graduate, when you work as if all depends on you and you
pray as if all depends on God, every obstacle will be turned to steppingstone,
every limitation will become an opportunity and every closed door will lead to
discoveries of many open-doors!
I urge
you to apply this God-approved powerful combination today and you will achieve
outstanding success in every area of your pursuit. Till I come your way soon,
go and live victoriously!